


No matter what

by marvels_blue_phoenix



Series: Peter’s Nightlight [3]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Everyone Loves Peter Parker, Hugs, Hugs all around, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Peter Needs a Hug, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Worry, happy tears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-17
Updated: 2018-11-17
Packaged: 2019-08-24 23:58:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16650370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvels_blue_phoenix/pseuds/marvels_blue_phoenix
Summary: Tony is worried about Peter not getting enough human interaction, so he suggests they invite Ned and Mj over for lunch.Peter decides to tell them about the reactor.





	No matter what

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, no this series is not dead. But I've been brain dead with this chapter for a while.  
> Anyway here is part three of Peter's Nightlight, thank you for your patience and I hope you enjoy :3 
> 
> Comments and Kudos are always appreciated :3 
> 
> Just a quick note: Ned and Mj already know Peter is Spider-Man and has been adopted by Tony

It was three in the morning and Peter and Tony were in the lab tinkering. Peter had woken up from another nightmare, screaming out for Tony. After the billionaire had manged to calm him, he brought them down to the lab to help chase away the memories.  
The music played softly in the background, the two working in comfortable silence before Tony broke it,  
“Hey Pete, when was the last time you saw Ned and Mj?” He asked, stopping what he was doing to look up at the teen.  
“Um, before I got my reactor,” Peter replied, keeping his eyes on his project, “Why’d you ask?”  
“Well as much as I love spending all our spare time together,” Tony said, fiddling with his screwdriver, “I don’t want you to drift away from your friends.”  
Peter paused in his tinkering, keeping his eyes down to avoid Tony’s gaze.  
“I talk them on my phone,” He answered in a quiet voice.  
“I know buddy,” Tony’s voice was soft, “but you need some human interaction with someone your own age.”  
Peter finally looked up and bit his lip, Tony meeting his gaze with a soft smile.  
“Pete?” He asked gently.  
“I don’t, um, I don’t,” The teen stuttered, starting to shake.  
“Hey, hey, hey, it’s okay,” Tony soothed waking over and pulling Peter into a warm hug, one hand running through his hair, “It’s alright sweetheart.”  
“I don’t wanna go out,” Peter mumbled into his Dad’s chest.  
“Okay, then why not invite them over for lunch?” Tony suggested, “that way you don’t have to go out, but you still get to see them.”  
“I’d, I’d like that,” Peter said, looking up with a small smile.  
“Then why don’t we get some sleep for a few hours and you can invite them over after breakfast. Sound good?” Tony asked, seeing the tiredness in his son’s eyes.  
“Can I, can I sleep with you?” Peter whispered, hope in his eyes. He hated asking because it made him feel like a little kid, but Peter was scared the nightmare would come back if he slept alone.  
“Sure thing kiddo,” Tony replied, his heart melting at Peter’s smile.  
The duo headed upstairs, falling asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows. 

The next morning Peter walked into the kitchen, bleary eyed with his hair sticking up in all directions,  
“Morning sleepy head,” Tony greeted in amusement at Peter’s appearance.  
“I’m not sleepy,” Peter yawned, slumping into a chair at the kitchen island, “I’m awake.”  
“Sure you are buckaroo,” Tony hid a grin behind his coffee mug, watching as Peter rubbed his eyes like a kitten.  
“Want some cereal?” Tony asked, placing his mug in the sink.  
“Lucky charms please,” Peter mumbled, taking out his phone. He opened up WhatsApp and entered the chat group him, Ned and Mj had made. 

Spiderboi: Hey guys, wanna come over for lunch today?  
Guyinthechair: Hey Peter : ) What time ?  
Spiderboi: 1pm?  
Guyinthechair: Sure, I’ll be there. Mj?  
Mjthetiger: Hey losers : ) Yeah, I’ll be there.  
Spiderboi: Awesome : ) See you then

Tony sat next to Peter, placing his bowl in front of him,  
“Thanks Dad, Ned and Mj said they’d come over,” He told him with a small smile.  
“That’s great buddy,” Tony smiled, happy Peter would be seeing some friendly faces.  
“I wanna, I wanna tell them about the reactor,” Peter then said in a quiet voice, eyes trained on his cereal as he moved it around with his spoon, “will you, will you stay beside me while I tell them?”  
Tony put a hand on Peter’s shoulder, smiling when the teen looked up at him,  
“Of course I will buckaroo,” his chest bloomed with warmth at Peter’s genuine smile, “Now eat up and we can spend some time in the lab before they get here.” 

“Boss , Peter’s friends are here,” FRIDAY announced.  
“Send them up Fri,” Tony said drying his hands. He headed to the living room, smiling when he saw Peter still asleep on the couch. Tony had sent Peter upstairs to take a nap after the teen almost fell asleep in the lab. Peter had stolen Tony’s old MIT hoodie, grabbed a pillow, curled up on the couch and fallen asleep. Now he was laying on his stomach.  
The billionaire sat by the boys hip, rubbing a warm hand up and down his back,  
“Peter,” Tony cooed, chuckling lightly when Peter moaned sleepily, “Peter c’mon sweetheart, Ned and Mj are here.”  
Peter’s eyes fluttered open, smiling sleepily at the other two teens who had just walked in.  
“Hey guys,” he greeted, voice still thick with sleep.  
“Hey Pete,” Ned greeted with a small wave.  
“Nice bedhead,” Mj commented playfully, gesturing to Peter’s messy hair.  
Peter sat up and glared at her halfheartedly, smiling when she and Ned walked over and hugged him. Tony, who had slipped away to get blankets, walked in and smiled at the scene in front of him,  
“Okay everyone get comfy, I have blankets,” he announced, the teens grinning when they saw the blankets.  
Ned and Mj sat on one side of Peter, the three of them laughing as Tony haphazardly threw the blankets over them.  
“So, what do you kids want for lunch?” He asked with a smile.  
“Oh, can we get cheese pizza?” Peter asked brightly as he wrapped a blanket around himself, hugging his pillow to his chest.  
“Can I have Pepperoni?” Ned asked hopefully, sharing his blanket with Mj.  
“Can I have vegetarian?” Mj piped up.  
“Sure, I’ll make the order you guys pick a movie,” Tony smiled, already dialing the number.  
Thirty minutes later they were all on the couch, sharing blankets and eating pizza while they watched Love, Simon. Peter snuggled into Tony’s side, smiling when an arm wrapped around him and Tony kissed the top of his head. 

Halfway through the second movie Peter was visibly nervous, alternating between playing with his sleeves and wringing his hands,  
“You okay there Pete?” Tony asked in concern, drawing the attention of Ned and Mj.  
“Peter, what’s wrong?” Ned had a worried look on his face, which was mirrored by Mj.  
“I um, I have something to tell you guys,” Peter told them quietly.  
Ned sat up a little straighter to listen, Mj moved to sit on the coffee table,  
"What do you have to tell us Peter?" Mj asked softly.  
"Well, I, um. You see," Peter stuttered.  
Tony felt his heart break when Peter looked at him, eyes wide and scared,  
"It's okay, I'm right here," Tony reassured him softly, placing a hand on the teens back to ground him.  
Peter nodded before taking a deep breath.  
"I didn't, didn't tell you everything that happened at homecoming. I just didn't want to worry you both," Peter told them quietly, fixing his gaze on his shoes.  
"What happened?" Ned asked, keeping his voice soft.  
Peter gave a bitter laugh,  
"I went and fought the Vulture, who turned out to be Liz's Dad. He was, was trying to steal tech from Dad's plane," his voice started to waver, "so we crashed, we crashed on Coney Island beach. He beat me up a little and he um, he tried to get away with a crate," Peter's eyes filled with tears, Tony started to rub his back to soothe him, "I tried to save him by webbing his wings and pulling him back down. But they um they exploded."  
Ned gasped as Mj’s jaw dropped in shock, Peter closed his eyes.  
"Some shrapnel hit me, so I had to go to the med bay and they got it out," Peter felt tears start to fall as his throat got a little tighter, "but they, they couldn’t get it all out. Some of it’s stuck in my chest and headed for, for my heart. So Dad and, Dad and Bruce had to put a reactor in my chest to keep me alive,” Peter sniffed, Tony pulled him into a hug.  
The room fell silent for a few moments as everything sank in. Ned and Mj knew something had happened to Peter after not seeing him for a while, but they never imagined something like this.  
"Please don't hate me" Peter whispered sounding broken.  
"Why would we hate you?" Mj asked, sounding offended Peter would even think that.  
Peter looked at her sadly,  
"I didn’t tell you what happened and that I have a reactor," his responded, everyone’s heart clenching at how small his voice sounded.  
"Peter," she said softly.  
Tony gently pulled away from Peter and swapped places with Mj.  
"We'd never hate you, Okay so you didn’t tell us when it happened, but you’ve told us now. Plus were not gonna hate you because of a blue circle in your chest," she told him, leaving no room for argument.  
"She's right Pete," Ned said, drawing his friends attention, "we’re your friends and we love you. We found out you were Spider-man and we don’t hate you. Now you have a reactor so what?"  
"He's right," Mj said, "you’re still Peter and we still love you, no matter what."  
“No matter what.” Ned agreed with a warm smile.  
Peter was silent as he let their words sink in, looking between them with watery eyes.  
"You okay Pete?" Tony asked gently, starting to get a little unnerved by his son’s silence.  
Peter burst into tears, feeling relief and joy wash over him.  
"I love you guys," he managed. Ned and Mj hugged him tightly,  
"We love you too Pete," Ned grinned kissing his cheek.  
"You'll always be our little wall crawler," Mj smiled kissing his other cheek, Peter cried even harder letting their love wash over him. 

Later that evening Tony was in the kitchen leaning against the counter thinking, it had been an emotional roller-coaster for all of them. He was pulled out of his musings when Peter walked in and hugged him.  
“Hey Spiderbaby, you okay?” Tony asked, arms automatically wrapping around Peter.  
“I love you Dad,” Peter whispered, snuggling closer as he closed his eyes.  
“I love you too kiddo,” Tony smiled running a hand through Peter’s hair, rocking him gently.  
The two stayed like that until Peter fell asleep, slowly becoming a dead weight in his Dad’s arms. Tony simply smiled and lifted Peter into his arms, carrying the boy back to his room.  
Earlier that evening Tony had helped the teens build an epic blanket fort in Peter’s room, where Ned and Mj were currently sleeping after agreeing to stay over.  
Tony gently lay Peter down on the assortment of pillows, smiling when the teen curled closer to Ned and stole some blanket.  
“Goodnight kids,” Tony whispered, gently closing the door behind him before heading to his own room.

That night, for the first time in a long time, Peter didn’t have a single nightmare.


End file.
